The Tycoon’s Last Desire Competition

The Tycoon’s Last Desire is a free architecture competition and exhibition organised by Archifeed and curated by Teymour Khoury, asking emerging architects to design a house in Faqra, in the mountains of Lebanon. Registration closes on Saturday, 31 October 2026, the first-round proposals are due on Sunday, 13 December 2026, and the eight finalist projects will go on show in Beirut from 14 May 2027.

The brief

Subtitled “The Client, the House and the Architecture of Power”, the competition turns the biography of a Brazilian-Lebanese client into the architectural brief. Entrants are asked how personal history, political ambition, wealth and the wish for a legacy can shape domestic space, and how a house might accommodate, interpret or challenge the power that commissions it.

The client wants privacy with the possibility of company rather than solitude, and a house that performs rather than a monument or a retirement home. The suggested programme includes a staged arrival sequence, a reception space that can shift between intimacy and spectacle, several dining spaces, bars, indoor and outdoor pools, three to four guest bedrooms, private quarters, space for art, books, music and cars, and hidden service circulation for large gatherings. The site is made up of three parcels with a combined area of 3,146 m². CAD and Rhino site files and drone imagery are on the competition website, and registered entrants receive the client’s biography, site documentation, topographical survey and project requirements.

Eligibility

The competition is reserved for emerging architects aged 30 or under who do not yet have a well-established practice. Individuals and teams can enter, with one registration per entry and one main contact for each team. No design is needed at registration.

Rounds and key dates

• Registration deadline: 31 October 2026
• Introductory online briefing for registered entrants: 10 November 2026
• Round 1, preliminary concept: 13 December 2026, with about half of the eligible entries advancing by 20 December 2026
• Round 2, developed proposal: 21 February 2027, with the eight finalists announced by 28 February 2027
• Round 3, exhibition files and physical models from the finalists: 25 April 2027
• Exhibition opening at Abroyan Factory, Burj Hammoud, Beirut: 14 May 2027

Registration and digital submission deadlines close at 11:59 pm Beirut time. The first round is a single PDF of up to three boards or eight pages, with a statement of about 300 to 500 words, site strategy, plans, a section, an axonometric, a sectional perspective and two to four visualisations. Physical models are only required from the finalists.

Prizes

Three of the eight exhibited projects will be awarded: USD 10,000 for first prize, USD 5,000 for second prize and an honourable mention with a special distinction for third. The three awarded teams may be asked to develop their proposals further, and the first-prize design may become the basis of a real commission, subject to the client’s approval, technical and regulatory checks, financial feasibility and a separate professional appointment. Entrants keep authorship of their work. Entry is free, and registration and the full brief are available via the competition website.